Canes for blind persons



April 1962 1. H. KRAVITT 3,029,828

CANES FOR BLIND PERSONS Filed Dec. 27, 1960 INVENTOR.

IRWIN HERBERT KRAVITT ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,029,828 CANES FOR BLIND PERSONS Irwin Herbert Kravitt, 8 S. 46th St., Philadelphia, Pa. Filed Dec. 27, 1960, Ser. No. 78,527 3 Claims. (Cl. 13547) It has heretofore been proposed to provide canes for blind persons to aid such persons in their advancing movement along a sidewalk or the like.

The canes for blind persons heretofore available were limited in'their capabilities in that while they furnished to the blind person informaiton as to the horizontal surface along which such person was moving, they did not furnish any information as to possible obstructions above the surface. I

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a cane for blind persons, and more particularly to an attachment suitable for use with canes now available, with which additional information as to freedom of movement or obstructions is available to the blind person in advance in the direction in which he is travelling. I

It is a further-object of the present invention to provide a cane for blind persons having provisions for determining not only the condition of the ground surface, but also the presence of elevated objects.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cane for blind persons having an attachment for increasing the usefulness of the guiding cane now commonly employed by blind persons.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cane for blind persons, the lower end of which is freely movable along a paved or other surface of generally horizontal character, together with a manually operable auxiliary detecting device so that the space in front of the blind person and above such surface can be explored while the blind persons is advancing.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cane for blind persons having an auxiliary detector feeler selectively positioned as desired, and which can be collapsed, when not in use, to a position to occupy only a small space in addition to that normally occupied by the cane.

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part thereof, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a cane for blind persons in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view,tenlarged, at the upper end of the cane;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken approximately on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the collapsed position of the feeler arm.

It should, of course, be understood that the descrip tion and drawings herein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications and changes can be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, a cane 10 having a body 11 of conventional shape is provided. The body 11 preferably has integral therewith and extending therefrom, a curved handle portion 12 terminating at a free end 13.

The cane body 11 is preferably provided, at its opposite or lower end 14 with a Wheel or caster 15 pivotally mounted in a wheel frame 16 which is attached to the lower end 14 of the cane body 11. The wheel or caster 15 is preferably freely rotatable on an axle 17 carried in the frame 16.

3,029,828 Patented Apr. 17, 1362 The cane body 11, at a predetermined distance from the lower end 14, is provided with a bracket plate 18 secured thereon in any desired manner, such as by screws 19. The bracket plate 18 is preferably located at a selected distance from the lower end 14.

The plate 18 has a lower marginal edge 20 which with I a portion of the body 11 of the cane 10 of measured length therebelow, can be employed to determine the depth of a step, curb or the like, in a simple manner-by manual manipulation.

The attachment employed in connection with the present invention preferably includes a lever 26 pivotally connected at one end thereof by a pivot pin 24 to the free end 13 of the curved handle portion 12 on one side thereof.

The lever 26 is preferably held against sidewise dis,-

' placement with respect to the handle portion 12 by a guide arm 27 longitudinally disposed on the cane body 11 and held in position by end screws 28 and in space relation by spacing collars 29.

i The lever 26 preferably has slidably mounted thereon' the body portion 30 of a finger grip 31 with an opening 32 for the insertion of one ofthe fingers of the user to The lever 25 preferably has pivotally mounted on one I end thereof by a pivot pin 36, a detector or feeler arm 37, preferably of light weight metal. The feeler arm 37 K at its free end can be provided with an enlarged and rounded end 38.

A positioning spring 42 is provided connected at one end to a mounting pin 41 carried on the lever 26 and connected at its opposite end to a slidable block 42 having enlarged end heads 43 and 44 and movable to opposite positions along a slot 45 provided in the arm 37.

It will be noted that the slot 45 extends above and below the location of the pivotal connection of the arm 37 to the lever 26.

' The spring 40, in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 tends to urge the arm 37 to a position in which it is inclined with respect to the lever 26 so that upon movement of the lever 26, the free end 38 of the arm 37 is moved towards and away from the body 11 of the cane 10 sweeping above the level at which the wheel 15 is located and can be moved with a sweeping or exploring motion, as desired, by selective movement of the lever 26.

The spring 40, upon movement of the block 42 to the opposite end of the slot 45 urges the arm 37 to a position this being particularly advantageous when traveling upon public vehicles where the detector arm 37, if extended, might contact other persons or the vehicle.

The mode of operation is thought to be apparent from the foregoing, but it may be noted that with the block 42 at the upper end of the slot 45, the person using the cane 10 may insert a finger in the opening 32 of the body portion 31 and as the Wheel 15 advances along the ground, the user can thensweep or explore the space above the cane 10 with the detector arm '37 to ascertain whether there are obstructions which would not be revealed by the lower end of the cane 10 in its movement along the ground.

Upon reaching a sharp drop in the surface, such as at a step or curb, indicated by the movement of the wheel 15, the distance of the surface therebelow may initially be investigated by sliding the cane downwardly over the edge of the surface of the step or curb. This may suggest that the drop is greater than that indicated by the position of the bracket plate 18, while if the plate 18 does not engage the surface of the step or curb, then a lesser drop will be indicated to the user.

I claim:

1. A cane assembly for blind persons comprising a cane having a body portion With a curved handle at its upper end and a lower terminal end, a lever pivotally secured at one end to the end of the handle and extending in bridging relation to the handle and having its other end beyond the body portion, a guide member for said lever secured on the exterior of the body portion, a detector arm pivotally mounted on said other end of said lever, said arm having a portion with a slot extending above and below said lever, a positioning block slidably mounted in said slot, and a resilient member connected at one end to said positioning block and at the other end to said lever for controlling the positioning of said detector arm.

2. An attachment for connection to a cane having a straight body portion and a curved handle comprising a lever having an end portion with an opening for a pivotal connection to the cane handle, a guide member along which said lever is movable for limiting the sidewise movement of said lever, said lever having another end portion, an elongated detector arm pivotally connected contiguous to one end thereof to said other end portion, said detector arm having at said one end thereof a portion with a slot extending above and below said lever, a positioning block seated in and movable along said slot, and a resilient member connected to said positioning block and to said lever, said block in one position being freely swingable upon movement of said lever and in another position holding said detector arm in an inactive position.

3. A cane attachment as defined in claim 2 in which a slidable finger grip is provided on said lever, and a retracting spring is connected to said grip and to said lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,624,591 Fleming Apr. 12, 1927 1,905,076 Van Sciver \Apr. 25, 1933 2,346,038 Mason Apr. 4, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 11,219 Great Britain July 1, 1891 551,170 Canada Ian. 7, 1958 907,661 France July 9, 1945 

